Who are the Ten Horns
in Daniel 7?
WHO ARE THE TEN HORNS
IN DANIEL 7?
As I began studying the prophecies relating to the Ten Horns, I realized that our misinterpretation of the Ten Horns originates from a misapplication of the Little Horn in Daniel 7. What misapplication you ask? The misapplication that interprets the Little Horn in Daniel 7 as the Papacy only, and the Little Horn in Daniel 8 as both the Pagan and Papal phases of the Roman Empire.
Uriah Smith perfectly highlights this subtle difference. Regarding the Little Horn in Daniel 7, he says, “This little horn, as we shall have occasion to notice more fully hereafter, was the papacy. The three horns plucked up before it were the Heruli, the Ostrogoths, and the Vandals. And the reason why they were plucked up was because they were opposed to the arrogant claims of the papal hierarchy, and hence to the supremacy in the church of the bishop of Rome.” DAR 118.
Now, watch how Smith interprets the Little Horn in Daniel 8: “This little horn must be understood to symbolize Rome in its entire history including its two phases, pagan and papal.” DAR p. 176.
Uriah Smith and Ellen White both wrote that the Little Horn in Daniel 7 is the Papacy. Please be advised, that I’m not disputing that fact; however, you must understand that the Little Horn in Daniel 7 is not just the Papacy, it’s the Papacy and Pagan Rome. Nevertheless, it’s not enough for me to just tell you, I need to prove it to you.
Notice how the Ten Horns and the Little Horn are introduced in Daniel 7: “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” Daniel 7:7-8
As Seventh-day Adventists, we are taught that the Little Horn (Papacy) destroyed three of the Germanic Tribes. And according to Uriah Smith, here’s how the Papacy destroyed them:
Heruli
“Zeno, the emperor of the East, and friend of the pope, was anxious to drive Odoacer out of Italy…Theodoric had come to the throne of the Ostrogothic kingdom. Zeno gave him permission to march against Odoacer, and take possession of Italy. Accordingly, after a three years’ war, the Herulian kingdom in Italy was overthrown.” DAR 132
Vandals
“While the Catholics were thus feeling the restraining power of an Arian king in Italy, they were suffering a violent persecution from the Arian Vandals in Africa…Such was the position of affairs, when, in 533, Justinian entered upon his Vandal and Gothic wars. Wishing to secure the influence of the pope and the Catholic party, he issued that memorable decree which was to constitute the pope the head of all the churches…. But no decree of this nature could be carried into effect until the Arian horns which stood in its way, were plucked up. The Vandals fell before the victorious arms of Belisarius in 534.” Dar 134-135
Ostrogoths
“The edict of the emperor Justinian, dated A. D. 533, made the bishop of Rome the head of all the churches. But this edict could not go into effect until the Arian Ostrogoths, the last of the three horns that were plucked up to make room for the papacy, were driven from Rome; and this was not accomplished, as already shown, till A. D. 538.” DAR 141
Problems with Uriah Smith’s view of the three plucked-up horns.
So essentially Uriah Smith suggests that out of the Ten Horns, the Papacy destroyed the three that were opposed to its doctrines. These three were the Heruli in 493, the Vandals in 534, and the Ostrogoths in 538.
This interpretation is believed by most Seventh-day Adventists. You’ll hear this in our Daniel and Revelation seminars and read this interpretation in many of our prophecy books. This is the view that I have believed, taught, and even argued for in the past. However, once I began fasting and praying for a better understanding of prophecy, it was then that I began to see that the three plucked-up horns CANNOT be the Heruli, Vandals, and Ostrogoths. Let me show you why I came to this conclusion:
Reason 1: The Papacy did not subdue these three kingdoms
According to Dan 7:24, “…the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall SUBDUE three kings.”
Let me ask you a question. Was there anything in the above three excerpts from Uriah Smith’s book that remotely suggests that the Papacy was the entity that subdued these three nations? It is true that the Ostrogoths and Vandals were destroyed by Justinian who wanted to relieve the Catholics, but his main motivation was the reconquest of the territories being occupied by the Germanic tribes. And even if his only motivation was to relieve the Catholics, our traditional view of the Little Horn prohibits us from assigning the Little Horn symbol to any other entities, including the Emperor of Rome.
Then Uriah Smith says the Heruli were destroyed by a friend of a friend of the Pope, who was actually the ruler of another Germanic tribe. Think about it! Emperor Zeno gave Theodoric permission to march against Odoacer but because Theodoric was given permission by Zeno, who was friends with the Pope, this is proof the Papacy subdued the Heruli. Just read the text, and you will see that the first problem with our interpretation is that the Papacy did NOT subdue any of these kingdoms.
Reason 2: The Heruli and Vandals fell before the Papacy was established.
According to Uriah Smith and Ellen White, the Papacy was established in 538 AD. If the Little Horn represented the Papacy, which arose to supremacy in 538, how can the Papacy be behind the destruction of the Heruli in 493, and the Vandals in 533? Now do you see why this interpretation is problematic? And that’s why you must understand that the Ten Horns on the Beast represent the ten kingships that consecutively ruled the world before the Roman Empire.
The real narrative of the Little Horn and the Ten Horns
In addition to the confusion around the identity of the ten kingdoms, that confusion is multiplied when we try identifying the three horns that were subdued by the Little Horn.
As Seventh-day Adventists, we've been taught that the Beast represents Pagan Rome, and the Little Horn represents the Papacy. This is true, but it's also incomplete. Once you recall how we interpret Horns, Heads, and Beasts, and once you understand that prophecy is non-linear, we can begin to see that Daniel 7's Beast-to-Horn transition is the beginning of a new narrative. In other words, the story of the four Beasts refers to the succession of kingdoms, but once that story ends, the prophecy then zooms into that fourth beast to expound upon the kings of that Beast. The Ten Horns and the Little Horn represent expanded detail into the career of the fourth Beast—a detail that wasn't provided for any of the other kingdoms. Thus the Little Horn and the Ten Horns represent an additional narrative of Rome's kingship—a kingship that includes kings, emperors, and Popes. Once we understand that, spiritually, all the kingdoms from Egypt to Greece are found in the Roman Empire, we can begin to better understand Daniel 7's narrative.
The Three Horns revealed
Although Rome existed from the year 753 BC, Rome didn't become a superpower until around the second century BC. If we recall, Greece was the previous superpower; however, after Alexander the Great died, the Empire was divided into four kingdoms. The Bible illustrates this historical fact by a four-headed leopard.
One of the Horns is destroyed
The four horns were four kingdoms headed by four of Alexander's former generals. Lysimachus ruled Asia Minor in the north, Ptolemy ruled Egypt in the south, Seleucus ruled Syria in the east, and Cassander ruled Macedonia in the west.
As I began studying the prophecies relating to the Ten Horns, I realized that our misinterpretation of the Ten Horns originates from a misapplication of the Little Horn in Daniel 7. What misapplication you ask? The misapplication that interprets the Little Horn in Daniel 7 as the Papacy only, and the Little Horn in Daniel 8 as both the Pagan and Papal phases of the Roman Empire.
Uriah Smith perfectly highlights this subtle difference. Regarding the Little Horn in Daniel 7, he says, “This little horn, as we shall have occasion to notice more fully hereafter, was the papacy. The three horns plucked up before it were the Heruli, the Ostrogoths, and the Vandals. And the reason why they were plucked up was because they were opposed to the arrogant claims of the papal hierarchy, and hence to the supremacy in the church of the bishop of Rome.” DAR 118.
Now, watch how Smith interprets the Little Horn in Daniel 8: “This little horn must be understood to symbolize Rome in its entire history including its two phases, pagan and papal.” DAR p. 176.
Uriah Smith and Ellen White both wrote that the Little Horn in Daniel 7 is the Papacy. Please be advised, that I’m not disputing that fact; however, you must understand that the Little Horn in Daniel 7 is not just the Papacy, it’s the Papacy and Pagan Rome. Nevertheless, it’s not enough for me to just tell you, I need to prove it to you.
Notice how the Ten Horns and the Little Horn are introduced in Daniel 7: “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.”
Daniel 7:7-8
As Seventh-day Adventists, we are taught that the Little Horn (Papacy) destroyed three of the Germanic Tribes. And according to Uriah Smith, here’s how the Papacy destroyed them:
Heruli
“Zeno, the emperor of the East, and friend of the pope, was anxious to drive Odoacer out of Italy…Theodoric had come to the throne of the Ostrogothic kingdom. Zeno gave him permission to march against Odoacer, and take possession of Italy. Accordingly, after a three years’ war, the Herulian kingdom in Italy was overthrown.” DAR 132
Vandals
“While the Catholics were thus feeling the restraining power of an Arian king in Italy, they were suffering a violent persecution from the Arian Vandals in Africa…Such was the position of affairs, when, in 533, Justinian entered upon his Vandal and Gothic wars. Wishing to secure the influence of the pope and the Catholic party, he issued that memorable decree which was to constitute the pope the head of all the churches…. But no decree of this nature could be carried into effect until the Arian horns which stood in its way, were plucked up. The Vandals fell before the victorious arms of Belisarius in 534.” Dar 134-135
Ostrogoths
“The edict of the emperor Justinian, dated A. D. 533, made the bishop of Rome the head of all the churches. But this edict could not go into effect until the Arian Ostrogoths, the last of the three horns that were plucked up to make room for the papacy, were driven from Rome; and this was not accomplished, as already shown, till A. D. 538.” DAR 141
Problems with Uriah Smith’s view of the three plucked-up horns.
So essentially Uriah Smith suggests that out of the Ten Horns, the Papacy destroyed the three that were opposed to its doctrines. These three were the Heruli in 493, the Vandals in 534, and the Ostrogoths in 538.
This interpretation is believed by most Seventh-day Adventists. You’ll hear this in our Daniel and Revelation seminars and read this interpretation in many of our prophecy books. This is the view that I have believed, taught, and even argued for in the past. However, once I began fasting and praying for a better understanding of prophecy, it was then that I began to see that the three plucked-up horns CANNOT be the Heruli, Vandals, and Ostrogoths. Let me show you why I came to this conclusion:
Reason 1: The Papacy did not subdue these three kingdoms
According to Dan 7:24, “…the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall SUBDUE three kings.”
Let me ask you a question. Was there anything in the above three excerpts from Uriah Smith’s book that remotely suggests that the Papacy was the entity that subdued these three nations? It is true that the Ostrogoths and Vandals were destroyed by Justinian who wanted to relieve the Catholics, but his main motivation was the reconquest of the territories being occupied by the Germanic tribes. And even if his only motivation was to relieve the Catholics, our traditional view of the Little Horn prohibits us from assigning the Little Horn symbol to any other entities, including the Emperor of Rome.
Then Uriah Smith says the Heruli were destroyed by a friend of a friend of the Pope, who was actually the ruler of another Germanic tribe. Think about it! Emperor Zeno gave Theodoric permission to march against Odoacer but because Theodoric was given permission by Zeno, who was friends with the Pope, this is proof the Papacy subdued the Heruli. Just read the text, and you will see that the first problem with our interpretation is that the Papacy did NOT subdue any of these kingdoms.
Reason 2: The Heruli and Vandals fell before the Papacy was established.
According to Uriah Smith and Ellen White, the Papacy was established in 538 AD. If the Little Horn represented the Papacy, which arose to supremacy in 538, how can the Papacy be behind the destruction of the Heruli in 493, and the Vandals in 533? Now do you see why this interpretation is problematic? And that’s why you must understand that the Ten Horns on the Beast represent the ten kingships that consecutively ruled the world before the Roman Empire.
In addition to the confusion around the identity of the ten kingdoms, that confusion is multiplied when we try identifying the three horns that were subdued by the Little Horn.
The real narrative of the Little Horn and the Ten Horns
As Seventh-day Adventists, we've been taught that the Beast represents Pagan Rome, and the Little Horn represents the Papacy. This is true, but it's also incomplete. Once you recall how we interpret Horns, Heads, and Beasts, and once you understand that prophecy is non-linear, we can begin to see that Daniel 7's Beast-to-Horn transition is the beginning of a new narrative. In other words, the story of the four Beasts refers to the succession of kingdoms, but once that story ends, the prophecy then zooms into that fourth beast to expound upon the kings of that Beast. The Ten Horns and the Little Horn represent expanded detail into the career of the fourth Beast—a detail that wasn't provided for any of the other kingdoms. Thus the Little Horn and the Ten Horns represent an additional narrative of Rome's kingship—a kingship that includes kings, emperors, and Popes. Once we understand that, spiritually, all the kingdoms from Egypt to Greece are found in the Roman Empire, we can begin to better understand Daniel 7's narrative.
The Three Horns revealed
Although Rome existed from the year 753 BC, Rome didn't become a superpower until around the second century BC. If we recall, Greece was the previous superpower; however, after Alexander the Great died, the Empire was divided into four kingdoms. The Bible illustrates this historical fact by a four-headed leopard.
One of the Horns is destroyed
The four horns were four kingdoms headed by four of Alexander's former generals. Lysimachus ruled Asia Minor in the north, Ptolemy ruled Egypt in the south, Seleucus ruled Syria in the east, and Cassander ruled Macedonia in the west.
As I began studying the prophecies relating to the Ten Horns, I realized that our misinterpretation of the Ten Horns originates from a misapplication of the Little Horn in Daniel 7. What misapplication you ask? The misapplication that interprets the Little Horn in Daniel 7 as the Papacy only, and the Little Horn in Daniel 8 as both the Pagan and Papal phases of the Roman Empire.
Uriah Smith perfectly highlights this subtle difference. Regarding the Little Horn in Daniel 7, he says, “This little horn, as we shall have occasion to notice more fully hereafter, was the papacy. The three horns plucked up before it were the Heruli, the Ostrogoths, and the Vandals. And the reason why they were plucked up was because they were opposed to the arrogant claims of the papal hierarchy, and hence to the supremacy in the church of the bishop of Rome.” DAR 118.
Now, watch how Smith interprets the Little Horn in Daniel 8: “This little horn must be understood to symbolize Rome in its entire history including its two phases, pagan and papal.” DAR p. 176.
Uriah Smith and Ellen White both wrote that the Little Horn in Daniel 7 is the Papacy. Please be advised, that I’m not disputing that fact; however, you must understand that the Little Horn in Daniel 7 is not just the Papacy, it’s the Papacy and Pagan Rome. Nevertheless, it’s not enough for me to just tell you, I need to prove it to you.
Notice how the Ten Horns and the Little Horn are introduced in Daniel 7: “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” Daniel 7:7-8
As Seventh-day Adventists, we are taught that the Little Horn (Papacy) destroyed three of the Germanic Tribes. And according to Uriah Smith, here’s how the Papacy destroyed them:
Heruli
“Zeno, the emperor of the East, and friend of the pope, was anxious to drive Odoacer out of Italy…Theodoric had come to the throne of the Ostrogothic kingdom. Zeno gave him permission to march against Odoacer, and take possession of Italy. Accordingly, after a three years’ war, the Herulian kingdom in Italy was overthrown.” DAR 132
Vandals
“While the Catholics were thus feeling the restraining power of an Arian king in Italy, they were suffering a violent persecution from the Arian Vandals in Africa…Such was the position of affairs, when, in 533, Justinian entered upon his Vandal and Gothic wars. Wishing to secure the influence of the pope and the Catholic party, he issued that memorable decree which was to constitute the pope the head of all the churches…. But no decree of this nature could be carried into effect until the Arian horns which stood in its way, were plucked up. The Vandals fell before the victorious arms of Belisarius in 534.” Dar 134-135
Ostrogoths
“The edict of the emperor Justinian, dated A. D. 533, made the bishop of Rome the head of all the churches. But this edict could not go into effect until the Arian Ostrogoths, the last of the three horns that were plucked up to make room for the papacy, were driven from Rome; and this was not accomplished, as already shown, till A. D. 538.” DAR 141
Problems with Uriah Smith’s view of the three plucked-up horns.
So essentially Uriah Smith suggests that out of the Ten Horns, the Papacy destroyed the three that were opposed to its doctrines. These three were the Heruli in 493, the Vandals in 534, and the Ostrogoths in 538.
This interpretation is believed by most Seventh-day Adventists. You’ll hear this in our Daniel and Revelation seminars and read this interpretation in many of our prophecy books. This is the view that I have believed, taught, and even argued for in the past. However, once I began fasting and praying for a better understanding of prophecy, it was then that I began to see that the three plucked-up horns CANNOT be the Heruli, Vandals, and Ostrogoths. Let me show you why I came to this conclusion:
Reason 1: The Papacy did not subdue these three kingdoms
According to Dan 7:24, “…the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall SUBDUE three kings.”
Let me ask you a question. Was there anything in the above three excerpts from Uriah Smith’s book that remotely suggests that the Papacy was the entity that subdued these three nations? It is true that the Ostrogoths and Vandals were destroyed by Justinian who wanted to relieve the Catholics, but his main motivation was the reconquest of the territories being occupied by the Germanic tribes. And even if his only motivation was to relieve the Catholics, our traditional view of the Little Horn prohibits us from assigning the Little Horn symbol to any other entities, including the Emperor of Rome.
Then Uriah Smith says the Heruli were destroyed by a friend of a friend of the Pope, who was actually the ruler of another Germanic tribe. Think about it! Emperor Zeno gave Theodoric permission to march against Odoacer but because Theodoric was given permission by Zeno, who was friends with the Pope, this is proof the Papacy subdued the Heruli. Just read the text, and you will see that the first problem with our interpretation is that the Papacy did NOT subdue any of these kingdoms.
Reason 2: The Heruli and Vandals fell before the Papacy was established.
According to Uriah Smith and Ellen White, the Papacy was established in 538 AD. If the Little Horn represented the Papacy, which arose to supremacy in 538, how can the Papacy be behind the destruction of the Heruli in 493, and the Vandals in 533? Now do you see why this interpretation is problematic? And that’s why you must understand that the Ten Horns on the Beast represent the ten kingships that consecutively ruled the world before the Roman Empire.
In addition to the confusion around the identity of the ten kingdoms, that confusion is multiplied when we try identifying the three horns that were subdued by the Little Horn.
The real narrative of the Little Horn and the Ten Horns
As Seventh-day Adventists, we've been taught that the Beast represents Pagan Rome, and the Little Horn represents the Papacy. This is true, but it's also incomplete. Once you recall how we interpret Horns, Heads, and Beasts, and once you understand that prophecy is non-linear, we can begin to see that Daniel 7's Beast-to-Horn transition is the beginning of a new narrative. In other words, the story of the four Beasts refers to the succession of kingdoms, but once that story ends, the prophecy then zooms into that fourth beast to expound upon the kings of that Beast. The Ten Horns and the Little Horn represent expanded detail into the career of the fourth Beast—a detail that wasn't provided for any of the other kingdoms. Thus the Little Horn and the Ten Horns represent an additional narrative of Rome's kingship—a kingship that includes kings, emperors, and Popes. Once we understand that, spiritually, all the kingdoms from Egypt to Greece are found in the Roman Empire, we can begin to better understand Daniel 7's narrative.
The Three Horns revealed
Although Rome existed from the year 753 BC, Rome didn't become a superpower until around the second century BC. If we recall, Greece was the previous superpower; however, after Alexander the Great died, the Empire was divided into four kingdoms. The Bible illustrates this historical fact by a four-headed leopard.
One of the Horns is destroyed
The four horns were four kingdoms headed by four of Alexander's former generals. Lysimachus ruled Asia Minor in the north, Ptolemy ruled Egypt in the south, Seleucus ruled Syria in the east, and Cassander ruled Macedonia in the west.
According to the historical record, in 294 BC, Demetrius I, son of Antigonus (another one of Alexander's former generals) would conquer Macedonia from Cassander's lineage. Then, in 281 BC, Seleucus would defeat Lysimachus at the Battle of Corupedium. Seleucus would then also attempt to conquer Macedonia, but he would be assassinated before completing the task.
The Three Horns defeated by the Little Horn
By the 3rd century BC, the four territories were ruled by three kings: The Antigonid dynasty ruled Macedonia in the west, the Ptolemies ruled Egypt in the south, and the Seleucids ruled Syria and parts of Asia Minor in the east and the north. Thus, when the Roman Empire rose to conquer the world, who did it need to conquer to achieve that goal? It conquered the Antigonids ruling Macedonia, the Ptolemies ruling Egypt, and the Seleucids ruling Syria. Thus we can now see that the three remaining kings of Alexander's divided Greek Empire were the three remaining horns Rome conquered in order to rule the known world! And once we understand that the previous seven horns had already lost their dominion, we can now see that Rome as the Little Horn rose up after the ten kingships. However, only three of those kingships needed to be conquered in order for Rome to rule the known world. This historical fact is what's illustrated by the Little Horn rising among the Ten Horns but only destroying three of them.
According to the historical record, in 294 BC, Demetrius I, son of Antigonus (another one of Alexander's former generals) would conquer Macedonia from Cassander's lineage. Then, in 281 BC, Seleucus would defeat Lysimachus at the Battle of Corupedium. Seleucus would then also attempt to conquer Macedonia, but he would be assassinated before completing the task.
The Three Horns defeated by the Little Horn
By the 3rd century BC, the four territories were ruled by three kings: The Antigonid dynasty ruled Macedonia in the west, the Ptolemies ruled Egypt in the south, and the Seleucids ruled Syria and parts of Asia Minor in the east and the north. Thus, when the Roman Empire rose to conquer the world, who did it need to conquer to achieve that goal? It conquered the Antigonids ruling Macedonia, the Ptolemies ruling Egypt, and the Seleucids ruling Syria. Thus we can now see that the three remaining kings of Alexander's divided Greek Empire were the three remaining horns Rome conquered in order to rule the known world! And once we understand that the previous seven horns had already lost their dominion, we can now see that Rome as the Little Horn rose up after the ten kingships. However, only three of those kingships needed to be conquered in order for Rome to rule the known world. This historical fact is what's illustrated by the Little Horn rising among the Ten Horns but only destroying three of them.
According to the historical record, in 294 BC, Demetrius I, son of Antigonus (another one of Alexander's former generals) would conquer Macedonia from Cassander's lineage. Then, in 281 BC, Seleucus would defeat Lysimachus at the Battle of Corupedium. Seleucus would then also attempt to conquer Macedonia, but he would be assassinated before completing the task.
The Three Horns defeated by the Little Horn
By the 3rd century BC, the four territories were ruled by three kings: The Antigonid dynasty ruled Macedonia in the west, the Ptolemies ruled Egypt in the south, and the Seleucids ruled Syria and parts of Asia Minor in the east and the north. Thus, when the Roman Empire rose to conquer the world, who did it need to conquer to achieve that goal? It conquered the Antigonids ruling Macedonia, the Ptolemies ruling Egypt, and the Seleucids ruling Syria. Thus we can now see that the three remaining kings of Alexander's divided Greek Empire were the three remaining horns Rome conquered in order to rule the known world! And once we understand that the previous seven horns had already lost their dominion, we can now see that Rome as the Little Horn rose up after the ten kingships. However, only three of those kingships needed to be conquered in order for Rome to rule the known world. This historical fact is what's illustrated by the Little Horn rising among the Ten Horns but only destroying three of them.
